Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) to Issue $0.76 Quarterly Dividend

Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.76 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

Gaming and Leisure Properties has increased its dividend by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a payout ratio of 95.5% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Analysts expect Gaming and Leisure Properties to earn $3.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 74.4%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPI opened at $49.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. Gaming and Leisure Properties has a 1 year low of $41.80 and a 1 year high of $52.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.14 and its 200 day moving average is $49.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 51.65%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gaming and Leisure Properties will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brandon John Moore sold 3,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $190,498.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 278,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,329,850.56. This trade represents a 1.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 10,474 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.62, for a total transaction of $509,245.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 71,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,488,825.34. This trade represents a 12.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,222 shares of company stock valued at $1,624,947 in the last 90 days. 4.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLPI has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley cut Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.93.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.